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Sinkholes becoming major problem in Hannibal

7 years ago by Jim Dewey

The Hannibal city council heard about problems with storm water drainage Tuesday night.

 Hannibal Board of Public Works General Manager Bob Stevenson presented a slide show detailing the problems with many of the storm sewers that were built by Hannibal citizens well over a century ago. Many of those sewers have begun to fail and Stevenson wants to get the conversation started on how to fix and or replace them. Stevenson noted that, "These conveyances were not designed by engineers, they were built without permits, without any oversight by a building inspector."

 Most of the storm water sewers were built in the 1800's by homeowners hoping to improve and protect their property. Those old sewers are collapsing, opening up sink holes in several areas around the city. Stevenson said the storm water system is big enough to be its own utility and could cost between 30 and 50 million dollars to resolve. The BPW recently purchased a truckload of steel plates to cover sinkholes that develop on city streets, but those are only patches.

 Stevenson did not offer any solutions to the problem but used the opportunity to "get the conversation started." Mayor pro-tem and first ward council member Kevin Knickerbocker suggested getting Hannibal residents involved in that conversation by reporting any sinkholes or storm water problems to their council representative.

 Stevenson said there are no maps available that show where these sewers are, "We have good guesses," he said. The city does have the results of a study that was done in 2005 by an engineering firm that produced a map Stevenson says is maybe 80% good, but there is no baseline reference.

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